January 12 – Morocco’s Minister of Industry, Trade and New Technologies, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, has been appointed head of the country’s Bid Committee for the 2026 World Cup.
In late November, Morocco formally submitted their application to FIFA and are sole challengers to the joint submission from Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Elalamy has a strong business background and founded the Saham Group which operates CNIA Saada, one of Morocco’s biggest insurance companies. But he has less than six months to lobby FIFA’s federations and try and secure enough backing to upset the odds.
2026 is Morocco’s fifth bid to host the World Cup following unsuccessful bids for the 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010 editions. The vote will take place at FIFA’s Congress in Moscow the day before the opening match of the World Cup in June.
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